Well, I tried to be civil, stated my regret and offered a peaceful end to a friendship that was yanked out from under me.

(more…)

There are times in ones life, when one comes to the conclusion that nothing on the ‘net’ is worth losing sleep over.

This includes the wide variety of people one comes to know, and grow close with.

Now…if only I could convince myself of the last part…I might actually be healthy.

As a kid growing up, my Mom made a Tradition of letting us pick the meal we wanted for our Birthday each year. One of my favorites was her Stuffed Bell Peppers. Over the years I made this “THE” meal that I wanted, and was lovingly teased, as in October, Bell Peppers are not exactly “in season” and could be a bit on the expensive side. (this being back before every country in the world was inporting goods to the U.S. I guess, because now you can get them pretty cheap all year round.) Anyway, her version used ground beef, rice and heavy soups to make them creamy and yummy.

Now that Dan and I are on the road to Thin, I’ve altered this Childhood Favorite into something a bit nicer on the waistline. I’ve included a picture as well…enjoy!

*~*~ Kari’s Stuffed Peppers ~*~*

4 Large Bell Peppers (Any Color)
1 Pd. Ground Meat (Beef, Chicken or Turkey)
1 Small Carton Sliced Mushrooms
1/2 C. Grated Carrot (I use pre-prepared they are thicker)
1 C. Grated Cheese (Any, I use Pepper Jack)
8 Slices Cheese (Any)
1 packet Lipton’s Mushroom and Onion soup mix
1/4 C. Water
2 TBSP Butter
1 TBSP Minced Garlic
2 TBSP Fresh Thyme and/or Rosemary, Chopped
Salt & Pepper

Put large pot on to boil, season with salt. Slice Peppers into boats by slicing down the middle from stem to bottom. Clean out seeds and cut out stems. Once water is boiling, drop in Peppers and “quick blanch” for aprox. 5-7 minutes. Peppers should still be vibrant in color, slightly flexible and still firm. This enables them to be soft enough to eat, yet not mushy. Cook slightly longer if you prefer a softer Pepper. Remove from water and drain on paper towel or clean dish towel.

Rough chop the Mushrooms so that they will be easily incorporated. Heat butter in sauté pan, add Garlic and sauté until just golden, then add mushrooms. Season with ground pepper and a very small pinch of salt as well as 1 TBSP of the chopped herbs. Cook until browned and tender. Remove from heat.

In large skillet, crumble and cook Meat until brown. Season with ground Pepper and add remaining TBSP of Herbs. Stir in packet of Lipton’s, and Water. Mix well. Next add the Carrots, and let simmer for a few minutes (2-3). Stir in Mushrooms and grated Cheese. Fold together until all is mixed and cheese is melted throughout.

Place Pepper Boats on baking sheet or in shallow pan. Spoon in Meat mixture evenly, you may have to mound it up a bit, depending on the size of your Peppers. Top with a slice of Cheese.

Place in 350 degree oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Serve with a Garden Salad, a nice Merlot, and Enjoy!

This recipe is Carb Friendly. Approximate Carb Count is 10g for one serving (2 Pepper Boats). Only 7g if Carrots are considered a “free” food on your diet.

Things have cleared up mostly….*keeps fingers crossed*. Claire thought it would be a good gesture for her to share her various ailments and ickys, and managed to give her Papa her nasty chest cold and Pink Eye. Haley was also sporting the “eyes of the dead” look as well as a sore throat. I’ve managed to escape any eye goo, but have had a severe sore throat and nose issues. Thomas, you ask? Healthy as a friggin’ horse. Too bad he is too young to cook, I might have turned him into a nurse, to tend to the rest of the sickies ; )

Speaking of food.

I.Am.A.Foodie.

Won’t deny it, proud to state it. Best thing that I bought the last 3 Months?

If you don’t watch “Good Eats” with Alton Brown, you are missing out on one of the best shows there is. In fact, I even have Alton linked over there *points* see? : ) Using his version of a Salt Cellar makes me feel like I can conquer the world! Well, not really …but its really nifty just the same! : )

I don’t have much else to post right now. In fact, I ought go, I hear 6 Bell Peppers calling me from the kitchen…must be time to fix supper : )

How is your weekend going? Mine?

As you can see, its fun times at the Trescott house. And Claire? She’s TOTALLY having a blast.

I swear, the next time I have to wipe her face, or give her meds, she’s gonna reach out and bitch slap me.

What’s wrong you ask?

Well, our daughter, being the gorgeous little angel that she is, decided that getting just ONE ailment wouldn’t do. I took her to the doc on Thursday this week, and he said she had a bit of a viral infection (bronchiolitus) that was most likely a secondary ailment from the ear infection she had a couple of weeks ago. So he prescribed Albuteral and Pedi-a-care.

That wasn’t doing shit. Last night she started getting hot, fever was spiking to 102.7. Gave Tylenol, it broke, she went to sleep. She woke up today from her morning nap, with eyes so goopy she could not open them. We packed her up and took her to Urgent Care.

The diagnosis?

Upper Respitory Infection
Ear Infection - - BOTH ears
PINK EYE

*sigh*

She’s on Zithromax (high power Anti-Biotic), Albuteral, Dimetapp and Motrin/Tylenol as needed as well as these lovely eye drops that make her eyes sting like hell.

Needless to say, she’s VERY happy.

Dear Interested Party:

My husband and I are regulars of the Friday’s that is located in Roseville, CA - Galleria Mall area. In fact, we go just about as often as we can, in order to get some time away from our kids. Being on Atkins, we also find that Fridays is an awesome choice for us, as we usually have a nice selection on the menu to choose from. We consider our weekly outing very special, and it is a shame that this particular instance has left such a sour taste.

Normally we are quite predictable in our order, usually getting the same thing, with little variation. This past Friday however, I decided to break out of my rut, and try something new. Upon opening my menu, I was quickly drawn to a lovely picture of a new dish. Sizzling Chicken and Shrimp. I decided after reading the description that it looked like something I would enjoy, and since I knew I could sub out the potatoes for a side of broccoli, I was ready to make my order.

The waiter, John, assisted us very adequately all evening, and his taking of our order was no exception. As per normal, our order arrived quite promptly, even considering the busy night, and we were as usual, pleased to have such a quick service.

Then the platter was set before me.

I looked down, looked back at my husband, looked down again, and asked, “Is it even Chicken?”.

This my dear reader, is not something one should be asking, if one has just ordered Chicken.

My shocked gaze then took note of the broccoli that was sitting in a dish on the sizzling platter, and I noticed that my serving of broccoli was indeed, TWICE the size of the meat that was apparently posing as Chicken. I then began to realize that I had not seen a single shrimp.

This my dear reader, is not something one should notice, if one has order a dish that has SHRIMP in the title.

I realized that about 5 bay sized shrimp (the ones that measure about an inch long, from tip to tail after being cooked) were buried under about one measuring cups worth of rather mushy looking picante sauce…..kinda like the Pace stuff I have over there in my fridge door.

I was flabbergasted. I was shocked. I confirmed with my husband that this did NOT look remotely CLOSE to the picture that was depicted in the menu, and beyond that, it was a hideous plate presentation, menu picture or not….and pathetically prepared and portioned. I don’t think my 7 year old would have found the Chicken that was lying limply on the platter to have been satisfying as a meal. However, he could have built a tree fort in the three HUGE stalks of broccoli.

The waiter noticed I was sitting and blinking at my plate, and came over to survey the damage. I told him that while I understood that he was not a cook, nor responsible, I still desired to speak to the Manager. He looked at my plate, and I briefly went over the high notes of what was wrong, and he promptly agreed to find the Manager.

Not many moments passed before, Chris, the Manager appeared at our table. I’ve never seen this gentlemen before, so I assume he is either a daytime Manager stuck filling in for someone, or new staff. Needless to say, he was quite polite.

I asked Chris if there was anything….wrong….with the platter that was sitting before me. He looked down at the article before him, paused for a thoughtful moment, then turned his head and looked at me quizzically. I think he was looking for the other 9 fingers that didn’t make it into Wendy’s chili or something, as he seemed quite puzzled at what I was asking, and it was apparent that he felt he was “missing” something.

I then went on to explain that I was a regular, and that normally I was quite pleased with both our service and food. I tend to tip in the 20-25% range quite often, as its my opinion that excellent service ought to be paid excellently. I then, droned on - well atleast, I think this is how it sounded to him, as he went sort of expressionless as I spoke - about how the plate that was sitting before me was unacceptable, a mis representation, and pathetically put together.

He quickly apologized, and offered to replace my dinner, comp’d, with anything I liked. He stating that he would be back in a few moments to take my order. I didn’t have to think long, as I had already decided that my little adventure outside of my rut, had indeed been a horrific one, and I was longing for the comfort of my beloved Ultimate Salad, with Ranch instead of Honey Mustard, thanks. He took the order, commented again that it would be on him, and then scurried off to have it prepared. I had asked for it to be packaged to go, as this little speed-bump had already delayed our normal length of dinner, and I had kids to return to.

Husband and I decided to order some of the low-carb cheesecake while we waited. John took the order, all the while gushing many more apologies, to which I confirmed multiple times that his service was not under question, and that I would not hold that against him when I received my check. While John was away getting the check, Chris re-appeared, with a to-go box neatly packed away in a carry out bag. He thanked us, asked to see us again soon, and was off to tend to other matters.

After having paid our bill, we left, bag in hand, and a chuckle at the whole experience in our immediate conversation. While getting in our car, husband happened to glance in the bag, and noticed that the dressing had been thoughtfully placed in a separate container, as to not make the salad soggy. There was note made of this, and not another word was thought or spoken of the salad.

The next afternoon, I settled down to have my salad, and was happily pouring salad dressing over it, when husband peered over at my to-go box and asked, “Is there any Chicken on that?”. I had not really noticed, that buried under the hard boiled egg, tomato, cheese and bacon bits….there was a severe LACK of Poultry. “Odd”, I said.

“Odd”, my dear reader, is not something one should proclaim in shock and disappointment, when inspecting a Salad, Thats main ingredient is Chicken only to discover that it is not present for the Roll Call.

Whats the moral of the story?

1. The pictures in Fridays menus may appear larger then they actually are.

2. Look both ways before leaving your rut.

3. Keep your eyes on the carry out bag at all times

4. Watch for missing Chicken.

(Just as P.S. this is a copy of the letter I sent to the online “Customer Comments” area for Fridays website. I thought a few others might find it amusing, hence, posting it here as well :) I am a firm believer that sometimes it takes the squeaky wheel to SQUAWK, before anything will change. )

I’m alive…..

I think.

That is all.